How Art, Scripture and Tradition Come Together in Mary’s May Crowning

Madonna of the Magnificat by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1481. Tempera on wood. 46 in × 47 in. Uffizi, Florence. (Photo: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons)

As a child, crowning Mary during the month of May felt like an actual participation in heavenly activity, because that is exactly what it was. I knew Heaven was doing the same thing and watching us down below. Placing the crown of flowers on Mary’s head, I could feel her warm, motherly smile radiating towards me. She was my mother, and I was honoring her. As sweet and as pious as that thought was, it was anything but flowery. It felt as real and true as the air we were breathing. Like many of our faith traditions, the May Crowning is one of the physical ways we touch the divine.

While many images from early Church iconography include crowns on both Jesus’ and Mary’s heads, no one knows exactly when or where this tradition began. The practice appears to have roots in medieval times, with a significant solidification occurring during the sixteenth century in Italy. (At this point, is anyone really surprised by that?) While celebrating the Marian Year in 1987, Pope St. John Paul II spoke of the Order of Crowning an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary by explaining that “The queen symbol was attributed to Mary because she was a perfect follower of Christ, who is the absolute crown of creation. She is the Mother of the Son of God, who is the messianic King. Mary is the Mother of Christ, the Word Incarnate.” In the ancient Jewish tradition, it was the king’s mother, not his wife, who was Queen. And given this framework, it would make sense that Christ has left us a Queen: his Mother. The fourth commandment (and the first one dealing with relations between people) tells us to “Honor your father and mother.” Would God himself have treated Mary in any other fashion?

Let us now turn to the Madonna of the Magnificat image by Sandro Botticelli. The vibrancy of this painting, when you see it in person, parallels the dazzling blue light optics that hypnotize us from our phones. If I could transport you to the gallery in Florence where it hangs, I would do so in a heartbeat! I admired this painting for a long time, but had no clue there were such details in gold — all this time, it registered as yellow paint. To actually see the gold shining out from across the room as I approached it was, well, shocking. It almost appears to glow: the delicate gold leaf work of the sunrays, the gold highlights in everyone’s hair and the fine details on the garments all appear with a startling light that seems to come from within. The crown itself looks like it could only have been forged in Heaven by tools we do not possess here on Earth. The transparent ribbon that seems to have delivered the crown matches perfectly with the practically invisible veil that covers Our Lady’s head. These impossible materials speak of a heavenly origin to this earthly scenario.

Surrounded by five incognito angels, Christ sits on his mother’s lap as though she were the throne. Perhaps he is watching her be crowned, but she seems not to notice. Mary is busy dipping her pen into the ink to continue writing the Magnificat on the right-hand side of the book. This is what gives the painting its name. As Botticelli almost entirely hides the prayer on the left side under Mary’s hand, the viewer has to be curious enough to notice the details. It is an easter egg with a surprise inside, if you will. For those with eyes to see, the left-hand side of the book contains the Benedictus or Canticle of Zachariah. The Benedictus speaks of the promise of the savior to come, and continuing to the next page, the Magnificat announces his arrival. They are perfect bookends. Each day in the Liturgy of the Hours begins with the Benedictus, and each evening ends with the Magnificat. These prayers point us to the reason for Mary’s coronation as Queen of Heaven and Earth: without her, we would have no savior. We can believably say that Mary was crowned for her yes to the Holy Spirit.

Another understated item in the painting that packs a punch is the pomegranate that Jesus and Mary hold together. Where to begin with pomegranates? I do not know of any other fruit that symbolizes more things than the pomegranate. For the Jewish people, it symbolizes the mitzvot of the Torah; these are the good deeds that are the commandments. There are six hundred and thirteen mitzvot, and allegorically, there were thought to be 613 seeds in a pomegranate! In Christian art, the pomegranate came to be seen as a symbol of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection. With the red seeds looking like drops of blood, and the seeds themselves holding the potential of new life, the correlation seems obvious. Pomegranates are mentioned several times in the Scriptures, and always in relation to beauty, fruitfulness and the promised land. How fitting, then, that the King and Queen of Heaven and Earth would be holding this fruit together!

With all of the Marian feast days during May, it is easy to see why this month would hold the tradition of crowning Mary. Let us take a moment and see that this tradition is not just for children to do once a year with a plastic wreath, but it is for us all.

Before the month is over, go outside and collect some flowers; go to the store and buy a bouquet; make a crown out of felt, if you’re feeling crafty. What it’s made of doesn’t matter. What matters is that you put yourself in the place of a child (especially if you think you’re too old for such childish things) and make a crown for your mother. Present it to her, and adorn her with it. I dare you! It will make your mother beam with joy.